1. Field
The invention relates to rasterization algorithms, and more particularly to hierarchical tile-based rasterization algorithms.
2. Related Art
Known in the art are equation based rasterization algorithms. One such algorithm is a parallel algorithm for the rasterization of polygons for 3D Z-buffered graphics implementations. This algorithm represents each edge of a polygon by a linear edge function that has a value greater than zero on one side of the edge and less than zero on the opposite side. The value of the function can be interpolated with hardware similar to hardware required to interpolate color and Z pixel values. In addition, the edge function of adjacent pixels may be computed in parallel. However, this algorithm lacks optimization and specific hardware implementations. It also lacks the usage for rasterizing lines.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved equation based rasterization algorithm. The invention addresses such a need. The algorithm in accordance with the invention is a hierarchical, tile-based rasterization algorithm that is optimized for both performance and locality. It also provides for the rasterization of lines.